Tag Archives: gouache

Anyone who has the courage to change careers or go back to school for further education deserves applause in my book. My sister not only changed careers and went back to school (George Washington University to be exact), but she graduated with her Doctorate in Psychology today!

To commemorate the occasion, I decided to dust off my jewelry design chops and create a special jewelry piece for her. I knew I wanted to incorporate 5 diamonds that were once part of our grandmother’s eternity ring. Taking inspiration from the initial of my sister’s first name (“M”) was a logical first step, although I also wanted to bring in her love for butterflies into the design. In the end, the concept not only suggested an “M” and a butterfly, but also a heart.

My rendering…

For the actual manufacturing, I turned to my talented colleague Tim Pinkert at Corner Studio Jewelers in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He created a series of computer aided designs (CAD) so that we could further iron out the details of the design.

And, here’s the final version we settled upon.

The pendant was finished in early May and I braved the Diamond District to find just the right chain. (I’m happy to report that Alex at the Royal Jewelry & Diamond Corp. took care of me very kindly.)

Here is a close-up “selfie” of the pendant.

Today was the big day – my sister’s graduation – and although I couldn’t be there, my mom presented her with the pendant and took these lovely photos.

I think we can all agree that she’s lovely…and that the pendant is the crowning touch.

I like people; in fact, I’m so interested in them, that when they share something with me, I can always come up with a sympathetic story of my own to share. Sometimes, I care so much I go ahead and give them advice, too.

That makes me a great listener, right?

Hmmm…I guess not. As I’ve come to understand, sympathetic sharing and the giving of advice isn’t listening. It’s sharing and giving advice – and generally someone who needs “an ear” is NOT looking for either thing.

I wish I could say that I’ve come to this understanding on my own and that the journey has been smooth, but that’s just not true. For as many times as I’ve complained to my husband because a friend or relative didn’t LISTEN to me the way I wanted or needed, he’s let me know that I’ve stepped on his toes by interrupting (why doesn’t he just speak faster then?) or by offering him advice when he, too, just needed to vent (I didn’t know men did that).

All joking aside, I do believe that truly listening is one of the most special gifts you can offer another person. When I am operating as my best self, I try to listen to others as I would like to be listened to in return. I try to listen with:

Attention

Interest

Patience

Compassionate understanding

A non-judgmental attitude

and

The belief that the speaker has the skills necessary to resolve their own issues.

Josephine fancies herself a gourmet cook. I wish I could say the same of myself, but to be honest, my tendency is more towards easy, fool-proof recipes that taste and look great but use a few “cheat” ingredients.

This recipeforTarte Tatin of Pears with Spices – passed down to me long ago by a true gourmet cook – fits the bill perfectly. The “cheat” ingredients are puff pastry and vanilla ice-cream. Beyond peeling 3 pears and splitting a vanilla bean in half, there’s little other prep work.

INGREDIENTS:

3 – 10 oz firm but ripe Anjou pears (other kinds are ok, as long as the pear is firm)

6 whole cloves

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 star anise

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of a 17-1/4 oz package), thawed

vanilla ice cream (keep hidden from your husband if he likes ice-cream as much as mine does!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Peel pears, cut in half and core. Pierce rounded side of each pear with one clove. Melt butter in a a 9 to 10 ” diameter non-stick ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Add sugar and stir until sugar melts and mixture is pale golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean and star anise.

Arrange pears in skillet, rounded sides down and stem end pointing towards the center of the skillet. Cover; cook over medium-low heat until pears are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until syrup is golden, thick and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Roll out pastry to 1/8th inch thickness. Place pastry atop warm pears, tucking in pastry on the edges. Pierce pastry several times with small sharp knife. Bake until pastry is brown and slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Josephine might not look like she knows much about conflict resolution; after all, her little canine friend André is her only companion! But even an easy-going, cheerful and well-adjusted girl like Josephine faces challenges every now and then.

As a result, she knows a thing or two about the 4 c’s (and I’m not talking diamonds here!)

In Josephine’s book the 4 c’s are:

Compassion

Clarity

Compromise

and

Communication

Compassion means giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. Itmeans understanding that people have a reason for what they do even if that reason isn’t readily apparent.

Clarity comes as a result of having compassion.

Compromise means having the maturity to see that if you both benefit, you’ll both be happier. (It doesn’t mean giving up on your hopes, dreams and ideals…or your Manolos!)